'I write this sitting in the kitchen sink' is the first line of this timeless, witty and enchanting novel about growing up. Cassandra Mortmain lives with her bohemian and impoverished family in a crumbling castle in the middle of nowhere. Her journal records her life with her beautiful, bored sister, Rose, her fadingly glamorous stepmother, Topaz, her little brother Thomas and her eccentric novelist father who suffers from a financially crippling writer's block. However, all their lives are turned upside down when the American heirs to the castle arrive and Cassandra finds herself falling in love for the first time.

"I know of few novels that inspire as much fierce lifelong affection in their readers" -- Joanna Trollope"Everyone I've passed it on to has found it a hit - it works every time, for absolutely everybody" -- Nigella Lawson"Smith rivals Nancy Mitford's Love in a Cold Climate series for 1930s toff charm" -- Katy Guest * The Independent *"A deliciously evocative portrait of England" -- Tasmina Perry * Daily Mail *"Dreamy and funny...an odd, shimmering timelessness clings to its pages. A thousand and one cheers for its reissue. A +" * Entertainment Weekly *

Reviews

“A great coming of age tale”

Cassandra is a seventeen year old girl who lives with her family in a decaying castle. With little money Cassandra spends most of her time observing the lives of those around her and capturing the daily life in the...
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“Honest and brilliant!”

This is the second time I have read this book, I think everytime you read it you find a new meaning and something that you can resonate with.
It is beautifully written and such a clever, innocent and brutally honest...
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“Absolutely beautiful...”

I Capture the Castle is definitely my favourite book of all time. I first read it when I was twelve and every time I've read it since, I gain something new from it.
It's a quintessential British tale about...
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